Amy T. Brooks is a highly respected and experienced member of the School Law Bar in Pennsylvania. For decades, she has advised school administrators regarding legal issues in student services and special education to help them achieve their goals. She is widely regarded as having an exceptional knowledge of Pennsylvania Special Education law, and has attended hundreds and hundreds of IEP meetings on behalf of School Districts and Charter School clients. Regularly appearing in front of all of Pennsylvania’s Office for Dispute Resolution Special Education Hearing Officers, Ms. Brooks also represents school boards and attends school board meetings. Her track record for success has been called “impressive” by her colleagues and clients who appreciate her extreme attention to detail and passion for strong advocacy.

In the courtroom, Ms. Brooks routinely litigates for school clients in administrative and local agency proceedings up through the appeals process. She has successfully defended multiple schools against legal claims such as those brought under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as representing Schools in investigations by the PA Department of Education and US Office for Civil Rights.

Ms. Brooks advises schools regarding student records and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), issues of risk management, matters of child abuse and reporting under the Child Protective Services Law, Homelessness under the McKinney Vento Act, sexual harassment and gender equity involving Title IX, and bullying and harassment investigations under Pennsylvania’s Anti-Bullying Law. A contributing editor to the Pennsylvania School Law Handbook published by the Pennsylvania School Board Association, she handles matters regarding the Public School Code of 1949 such as transportation, enrollment, residency, custody, discipline, charter schools, Pennsylvania Approved Private Schools, and private schools.

Ms. Brooks builds strong relationships with clients through daily interactions on matters of concern. She is available to her clients around the clock and is known as a tremendous “emergency” advocate. Unlike many other members of the school law bar, Ms. Brooks has been a teacher and collegiate coach and actively brings practical and knowledgeable experience from her involvement in the educational community into her practice. For many years, she served on the Westtown School’s Board of Trustees, the Board of Managers of Haverford College, and heads the Haverford College Corporation. Ms. Brooks is also Secretary for the Pennsylvania School Board’s Solicitor’s Association, a member of the Pennsylvania and Montgomery Bar Associations, and on the Board of Trustees for the Friends Fiduciary Corporation. She serves as a member of Wisler Pearlstine’s Executive Committee. Ms. Brooks is frequently called to teach other education lawyers about the newest developments in the practice. A graduate of Haverford College and Temple University’s Law School, Ms. Brooks served as Editor-in-Chief of the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review.

Representative Matters

Recent due process hearing successes:

• Hearing Officer denied all requests for compensatory education and tuition reimbursement under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act for a student who was making progress in a District yet unilaterally placed in a private school requesting the District to pay the tuition.
• Successfully represented District who was found not to have discriminated against a student under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act when they refused to adopt and warned a family not to use an educational methodology (Spelling 2 Communicate). The District was not required to pay compensatory education or for the family’s education of their child using the methodology.
• Successfully represented District in a residency matter before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals where a family was living in Maryland yet sought payment for DC private school from the Pa. School District. Ms. Brooks won the threshold issue of the family not being considered a resident of the District.

On a regular basis:

• Represents school entities to resolve education related disagreements with parents.
• Represents school entities in other kinds of administrative hearings through the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in special education claims such as tuition reimbursement and compensatory education claims.
• Drafts and advises school entities on their policies and administrative procedures.
• Represents school Districts in non-residency hearings to exclude students attending our client schools illegally.
• Counsels school entities in successfully navigating the Charter School Application Review process including hearings on Charter Applications.
• In-services school administrators, teachers, and other special education service providers in areas of special education compliance and strategy.
• Represents school entities during investigations conducted by compliance offices such as the Pennsylvania Department of Education, or the Office of Civil Rights alleging discrimination based on disability or race.